Can with spout protector



June 27, 1939. a. A. LEIGHTON CAN WITH SPOUT PROTECTOR Filed Sept. 12, 1958 z'yla Patented June 27, 1939 UNITED STATES CAN WITH SPOUT PROTECTOR George A. Leighton, Boston,

Sexton Can Company Mass,

Mass, assignor to Incorporated, Everett,

a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 12, 1938, Serial No. 229,409

11 Claims.

The present invention relates to cans or drums for the shipment and storage of liquids, which are provided with spouts for guiding the contents in being discharged. Cans of the character referred to are usually of relatively large capacity, i. e., adapted to contain several gallons of liquid, and the spout is desirable to guide the contents, when discharged, in a compact stream which can be directed, and to prevent the discharged liquid from spilling on the head of the can and spreading over its rim or surface area.

Spouts of this character, when in position for use, protrude beyond the plane bounded by the rim of the can head, and in order to protect them from injury, and at the same time have them handy for use when required, it is desirable to make them detachable and to provide the can with a pocket or well in which the spout may be stored until needed. The invention is particularly concerned with the construction and combination of such a well with the can, and a protective retainer over the mouth of such well. The principles and particulars of the invention are set forth in the following specification with reference to an illustrated drawing.

In the drawing,--

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a can or drum equipped with a detachable discharge spout and a covered well or pocket containing the spout prior to use;

Fig. 2 is a dismembered perspective view of the well, spout and retainer on a larger scale;

Figs. 3 and 4 are detail sectional views taken on lines 3-3 and l--4 respectively of Fig. 1 and shown on a larger scale;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing a preliminary stage in the attachment of the well to the can body;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the upper part of the can showing the spout applied to the discharge nozzle and the cap applied to the spout.

Fig. 7 shows a nozzle secured by the seal of Fig. 4.

Like reference characters designate the same parts wherever they occur in all the figures.

A can or drum a having a head I) is here shown. In this illustration the head is of the plug type; i. e., it has a raised rim adapted to fit tightly in the mouth of the can body, and an outstand- 50 ing flange which is rolled over into an interlocked seam with the edge of the body; but this is a nonessential detail. The discharge outlet is formed in the head b and is surrounded by a nozzle 0 which, after the can has been filled, is 5; closed by a cap d having a sealing disk or washer e. Preferably the area of the head surrounding the outlet is depressed enough so that the raised shoulders 01' of the cap, which are provided for application of a tool to screw the cap on tightly and to unscrew it, will not rise above the plane of 5 the raised rim of the head, previously referred to.

The can and all of .its parts (except the sealing disks) are made of sheet metal formed by known methods of sheet metal working. The nozzle 0 is rolled with surrounding corrugations, forming 10 a screw thread. One of its ends is passed over an upstanding rib f surrounding the outlet opening, and is united thereto by solder, and its other end is rolled inward at o to stiffen it and avoid danger of cutting the handlers fingers and hand 15 by the sharp metal. The cap (1 is of cup formation having a thread impressed in its side walls of dimensions and lead to fit the thread of the nozzle. Its end wall is offset to form the abutments d.

An extension spout g is provided for attachment to the nozzle. It is of cylindrical tubular form with an expanded threaded zone g at one end to fit the threads of the nozzle, and a rolled over bead g at the opposite end which has a 25 double purpose. One is to protect the hands of users from being out by the edge of the thin sheet metal and the other is to engage the threads of the cap so that the latter will be retained in place when applied to cover the spout, while the 30 latter is on the nozzle. The spout extends beyond the rim of the can head and is thus enabled to direct the outflowing stream clear of such head when the can is being discharged. If the can is only partly emptied by one pouring, the cap may 35 be applied to the end of the spout.

A well or spocket his provided to hold the spout for storage and shipment before discharge of the contents of the can. It is initially made as a cup independent ofthe can head with an outturned flange h at its rim. Its structural combination with the head and with a cover or seal forms an important part of the invention. It projects through a hole in the head, being supported by its flange on the rim of the hole, and is sealed in 45 place by a rib integral with the head and constructed as follows.

Initially the hole cut in the can head is smaller than the diameter of the well, and the marginal portion thereof is turned outward and expanded on a circular line of which the diameter is enough larger than the well to permit free entrance of the latter. The material of the head thus outturned is further expanded and folded back on the head, substantially as shown in Fig. 5. This forms a reinforced margin or seat 7' of double thickness around the rim of the hole, and an upstanding circular rib lc of somewhat larger inside diameter than the edge of the flange h on the well. When the well is assembled with the head, its flange seats on the reinforced rim 7', and preferably a gasket m is inserted between the flange and seat as shown.

A cover or sealing disk 0 is placed on the flange h after the spout has been placed within the latter, and finally the outer portion of the rib 7c is spun inward and pressed down on the margin of the disk, forming a lip k which clamps the disk, flange and gasket tightly and securely on the shoulder 7', making a seal which prevents leakage of the contents of the can around the rim of the well and securely retains the spout in the well.

In the sectional view, in order to show clearly the formations above described, the thickness of the sheet metal of which the can head, well, outlet nozzle and cap are made, is shown exaggerated.

The depth of the well is correlated to the length of the spout, so that when the cover disk is clamped in place as described, insuflicient room is left for the spout to rattle about. This is best accomplished by making the spout equal in length to the depth of the well, or slightly longer, whereby the cover disk is caused to bear on its outer end and prevent it from moving.

Once clamped in place, the disk is not removable intact. When need arises to use the spout, the disk is cut away near its edge. A material is used for the disk which can be thus out easily and is at the same time sufficiently tough, strong and inexpensive. I have found thick paper impregnated with parafiin to be a wholly suitable material for this purpose. It can be cut by a pen knife, is sufliciently strong and stiff, but flexible enough to yield when clamped at its edges while bearing on the spout beneath, and is so cheap that destruction of the disks in the manner described involves no appreciable loss or waste. However, other materials having similar qualities are within the scope of the protection claimed for this phase of the invention. When paper is used, although it need not be impregnated with paraffin, still it should be suitably treated to protect it from disintegration or weakening by moisture.

Cans and drums containing this invention may be made in awide variety of sizes and proportions for holding many and various liquids. In any specific case the spout and well for containing it are dimensioned appropriately to the diameter of the outlet. The well is virtually part of one wall of the can, being placed in the aperture made for its reception and sealed therein with a leakage tight joint before the can is filled. While it is preferable for various reasons that the spout well be set into the same head or wall of the can as the outlet nozzle, and located near the latter, yet this is not an essential condition.

The constructional feature embodied in the means for securing the well to the head of the can, hereinbefore described, is a very important feature of the invention and is believed to be a unique construction. Its utility is not limited to the specific combination with an adjunct which projects into the interior of the can (such as the well) but is equally useful for securing outwardly projecting parts, such as a nozzle, collar, spout, or anything of like nature in connection with a can or the like. The connection is the same whether the element connected extends inwardly or outwardly with respect to the wall to which it is applied, provided the attachedelement has an outstanding flange capable of being gripped between the rim of the opening and the lip 70', as will be readily apparent from an inspection of the drawing. Gaskets such as that shown at m, and another gasket corresponding to the rim of the seal 0 may be applied at opposite sides of the outstanding flange, in the case of an outwardly projecting attachment, or either of such gaskets, preferably the gasket m, may be used alone. Fig. '7 shows this connection applied to an external nozzle 0 by way of illustration. It is of course immaterial what the contours of the wall to which the connection is applied outside of the point of application are; i. e., whether the wall is plane or curved, and whether or not it is oifset inwardly or outwardly at the location where the connection is applied.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A can having a discharge outlet, a spout applicable to said outlet for guiding the contents of the can when poured out, a well passing through a wall of the can for containing said spout having an outturned flange on one end, a cover overlying said flange and adapted to be cut out so as to give access to the spout, and means for clamping said cover and. flange to the said wall.

2. A can having a discharge outlet, a spout for application to said outlet, and a well for containing the spout prior to use thereof, said well extending through a hole in a wall of the can, having an outturned flange bearing on the margin of such hole, a cover disk overlying such flange, and the can having an integral lip overlapping said flange and the margin of said disk and holding the same and the well in place.

3. A can having a discharge outlet and having also a hole in one wall, the material at the margin of the hole being doubled outward to form a. shoulder portion of double thickness and an encircling outstanding rib, a cuphaving a peripheral flange extending through said hole with its flange bearing on the outer side of said shoulder, a readily destructible cover disk extending over said flange within said rib, and a spout within the well overlaid by said disk provided with means for connecting it d-etachably to said discharge outlet, the rib having an overturned lip bearing on the margin of the disk and clamping the same and the well in place against said shoulder, and the disk constituting the sole means for retaining the spout in the well.

4. A can having an outlet and a threaded nozzle surrounding the outlet, an internally threaded cap fitting said nozzle removably, a spout hav ing a threaded formation at one end adapted to be screwed on said nozzle and having an exter nal bead at its other end of which the outside diameter is greater than that of the internal crests,andsmaller than that of the valleys between the crests, of the internal threads of the cap, adapted to enter and interlock with said threads of the cap.

5. A can having a pouring outlet, a spout adapted to be connected in conducting relation to said outlet, a well for containing said spout prior to use, and a destructible cover secured nonremovably in place over the mouth of said well and constituting the sole means for retaining the spout in the well.

6. A can having a pouring outlet, a spout adapted to be connected in conducting relation to said outlet, a well for containing said spout prior to use, and a destructible cover secured nonremovably in place over the mouth of said well, the depth of said well and length of said spout being approximately equal, whereby the cover is enabled to hold the spout from violent movement within the well.

7. A sheet metal can having a spout containing well, said well passing through an opening in a wall of the can, the material of such wall being expanded and folded back around the opening, forming a reinforced seat, and the well having an outturned flange supported by said seat, and the material of said wall being curled around said flange to form a seal locking the well in place.

8. A can construction as set forth in claim 7, including a cover disk overlying the flange of the well and being confined and sealed in place by the curled over material of the head.

9. A sheet metal construction comprising a wall and a tubular attachment, said wall having a hole surrounded by an integral turned back rim reinforcement, an outwardly extending rib portion and an inwardly turned lip, and the attachment having an outward flange confined between said rim reinforcement and said lip.

10. The combination of a can having a sheet metal wall and a tubular attachment having an outstanding flange, the said wall having a hole of which the marginal portion is expanded and folded back to provide a rim reinforcement, and is extended away from the wall and inward to form a confining lip, the flange of said attachment having an outside diameter wider than said rim and lip and being located between them.

1].. The combination of a can having a sheet metal wall and a tubular attachment having an outstanding flange, the said wall having a hole of which the marginal portion is expanded and folded back to provide a rim reinforcement, and is extended away from the wall and inward to form a confining lip, the flange of said attachment having an outside diameter wider than said rim and lip and being located between them, combined with a sealing gasket between said flange and the rim of the hole.

GEORGE A. LEIGHTON. 

